The 161,900-CM Maran Gas Apolloni named as the first LNG carrier passed through the newly expanded Panama Canal on 25-July. The Shell-chartered ship carried a cargo loaded at the US Sabine Pass LNG plant on the Gulf Coast.
BG (now Shell) has secured the entire output of Sabine Pass plant’s first LNG train under a tolling agreement with the plant’s operator, Chenier Energy.
Today, BP’s 138,000-CM British Merchant LNG carrier transits the new Agua Clara locks, carrying a cargo from Trinidad’s Atlantic LNG plant to be uploaded at Manzanillo receiving terminal on Mexico’s west coast and a third LNG ship is expected to transit the canal in early August, according to the Panama Canal Authority (PCA).
The expanded canal will be able to accommodate the world’s all current LNG ships but the Q- Flex and Q-Max LNG carriers used by Qataris LNG exporters.
The canal expansion allows access to 90 percent of the world’s LNG tanker fleet, up from 6 percent before, EIA said, adding that the US Gulf Coast may be sending 35 to 38 MMT/Y of LNG (about 550 cargoes) through the Panama Canal by 2021.
Meanwhile, The Guardian reported that three ships have now been damaged since the expanded Panama Canal waterway opened as in the latest incident the Chinese Xin Fei Zhou container ship hit a wall of the new lane of the Canal on 25-Jul. The ship agent said she was undergoing repairs.
The latest incident comes after two other vessels have reportedly made contact with the newly expanded canal since the $5.4 billion project was inaugurated on 26-June.
The expansion, which triples the size of ships that can pass through the waterway, has drawn criticism from industry groups that claim its design makes the transit of larger ships unsafe for the vessels and workers, the UK-based media reported, adding that the PCA said its operations team was investigating the incidents.

Video: How giant ships pass through Panama Canal